A House Dividing

"Comparing the economic and social development of Virginia and Pennsylvania, John Majewski shows how these two states exemplified the remarkable regional divergence between North and South on the eve of the Civil War. New archival research reveals that a broad spectrum of residents in both states embraced canals, railroads, and other commercial projects to hold their communities together in America's mobile society. Virginia's commitment to slavery, however, undercut the state's aggressive efforts to keep pace with its northern neighbors. While Philadelphia capitalists financed trunk railroads that opened new markets for Pennsylvania manufacturers, Virginia's railroads remained a collection of local lines serving market towns and slave plantations. The chains of slavery, Virginians learned to their dismay, also shackled the invisible hand of the market."--BOOK JACKET.

Year

2000

Language

English

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Editions

5

Pages

234

ISBN

9780521590235

Data source: Wikidata